Chapter 6: Histrionics

I felt something extremely cold on my shoulder. My body automatically recoiled away from the foreign object. I opened my eyes. The foreign object was Jasper's hand.

"We're here," he said softly.

"We are?" I asked blearily. I tried to look out the window, but all I saw was the black of night. I turned and reached for the door handle, then hesitated. Now that I knew his secret, would Jasper and his family leave? I shivered.

"Are you going to leave now?" he seemed to understand my question.

"No, I don't see any reason to. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"It's not like anyone would believe me."

"Just promise me you won't tell. I don't want to kill you, but I would have to…" he said thoughtfully. That sent a chill down my spine.

"I won't tell," I whispered. He leaned in. I gulped, heart racing.

"See you Monday," he said. He was close enough that I could feel his breath. It smelled amazing…no, intoxicating. I leaned closer. He leaned away. I blinked, now thoroughly dazed. I reached again for the door handle and stepped awkwardly out of the car. I stumbled as I made my way to the door, then I heard the car purr to life. I turned to see the silver Volvo disappear down the street.

I got my key and unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Devin?" I heard my dad ask with a slight hint of worry.

"Yeah, Dad, it's me," I answered.

"Where were you? I was worried."

"Seattle? Remember?" I reminded him. He looked skeptical.

"Are you sure that's where you've been?"

"Yes!"

"How did you get there then?"

I just realized that my truck had been sitting in the driveway the whole time. This was why he was worried.

"Oh! Jasper took me. He's Doctor Cullen's kid," I informed him.

"But you said you were going alone, was that a lie?"

"No-"

"Why would you feel the need to lie to me Devin? I'm your father, you can tell me anything." He said. He was overreacting. I didn't like the direction in which this conversation was going.

"At the time, I was going alone. Jasper asked to take me after I told you about it."

"Why didn't I know about this?"

"Slipped my mind? I don't know. Sorry dad, I forgot."

"Just don't let it happen again, you had me worried kiddo." He sighed.

"Okay, well I'm tired. I did a lot of walking today. I'll be in my room." I said as I made my way to the stairs.

"Okay…" he said, returning to the living room. I grabbed the phone off the counter before making my way up the stairs. Angela was probably bursting with anticipation. I dialed the number; she picked up on the second ring.

"What took you so long?!" she sounded frantic.

"Hello Angela, how are you this fine evening?"

"What happened? Did he kiss you? Did you just get home?!"

"NO, and yes. I just got in."

"Wow…what were you guys doing all day?"

"I went to the bookstore, and he went off somewhere. Then I got lost and it started raining. Then Jasper found me, and we went to a restaurant for dinner."

"Devin, this screams date…" she said matter-of-factly

"It wasn't a date. He doesn't like me." I reminded her.

"I think otherwise, and I'm usually right."

"Whatever you say, I'm gonna go to bed. See you Monday, kay?"

"Goodbye sweetheart, see you Monday!"

Nothing else interesting happened that weekend. My nights were dreamless, and my day was filled with a mix of homework and housework. Monday morning I woke up late. Steven was gone, as usual. I made myself a bowl of cereal and rushed to the door. I turned around and locked it.

When I turned back around, there was a shiny silver Volvo sitting in the driveway. My heart sped up triple time. I blinked, and Jasper was at the passenger door, holding it open for me.

"Do you want a ride to school?" he asked, sounding tentative. I wondered if he really expected me to run away screaming for my life. He seemed to be expecting that as he gave me the chance to say no.

"Sure, thanks," I said. My voice cracked. I got into the warm car, which felt good in contrast to the cold air outside. The door closed behind me, and less than a second later, he was sitting next to me starting the car.

He was wearing a grey sweater that displayed perfectly his beautifully sculpted chest. I never noticed it before, but Jasper had a really nice body. I guess I was too caught up looking at his face that I never even bothered to look anywhere else. Something occurred to me.

"Jasper? How is the rest of your family going to get to school?"

"They took Rosalie's car," he shrugged. Then we pulled up to a glistening red convertible with the top down. "A little pretentious if you ask me"

"Wow…"I said, stunned. "If you have that, then why do you ride in Edward's car?"

"We do try to fit in as much as we can. Showing off how much money we have only defeats the purpose."

"I don't think you could blend in if you wanted to." I told him.

"Why is that?" he asked, looking at me.

I struggled to maintain my composure. "Because you all are more beautiful than any human's I've ever seen."

"Hm. Thanks," he said, smiling.

"Why did she drive that if you want to stay inconspicuous?" I asked. I noticed some of the boys drooling over the red convertible.

"I wanted to bring you to school," he said simply.

"Why? I have a car you know."

He didn't respond. I looked at him expectantly, my eyes tracing his pale features.

"It makes me…anxious…to be away from you." He turned to me, his eyes tender, but severe. I took deep breaths to keep myself calm.

"I don't like it either, you're all I think about when you're gone," I confessed. I looked down in embarrassment.

I can't believe I just told him that!

He was silent. I looked up, he looked distressed.

"I can't do this, it's not right," he muttered.

"What?"

He shook his head from side to side. "I don't want you to feel that way. It's not safe. You shouldn't even be here right now. Carlisle—all of them, they put too much faith in me. I'm dangerous Devin, don't you see that? You should be scared for your life. You are at a greater risk than any other human at this school. I've killed before. You need to stay away from me. I can't do this." He said, looking down at the floor of the car. It looked to me as if he were going to cry.

"Jasper, it doesn't matter to me. I don't care what you are. Its too late now." I said, trying to comfort him.

"Don't say that." He said sharply.

Feelings of dread washed over me, but I knew it had nothing to do with Jasper's powers. I fought to keep the liquid in my eyes from breaching my eyelids. When I didn't reply, he looked at me.

"Don't cry, I'm sorry…" he said sounding worried. He reached out towards my face, but quickly dropped his hand.

"See you in biology Jasper" I said, getting out of the car. I went straight to the bathroom. There was no way that I could let Angela see me crying like this. I didn't even think I could face Jasper again. I didn't even know why I was crying. Why did it upset me so much that Jasper didn't want to be near me?

I blew my nose, and wiped my eyes, and left the bathroom. I headed to English and got there just before the bell rang. I saw Mike looking concerned, and Angela mouthed "Are you okay?"

I nodded to her, and motioned that I was sick. I focused every fiber of my being on class. Not even daring to think about Jasper. I was highly attentive through American History, and Trigonometry.

I was walking towards Spanish. I was running late. I didn't see anyone else moving from class to class. Suddenly, I felt the ground fall from under me, as I was forcefully, but gently pushed against the building.

"Devin, I'm sorry. Don't be angry with me. You wouldn't believe how hard…how new this is for me. I've never had to try so hard to keep someone alive." It was Jasper. His face was inches away from mine. I held my breath, trying not to inhale his invigorating scent. I couldn't move away—he was holding me in place—so I just averted my eyes from his. That was the only route to coherent thinking.

"You promised me. You promised that you wouldn't leave. But apparently, you can't stand to be near me." I said, my eyes starting to water. Why the hell do I have to be so sensitive?!

"Don't you get it yet?" he asked. I had no idea what he was talking about. I looked into his eyes. They were intense, and filled with warm gold. "All I want is to be near you…" The moisture in my eyes brimmed over. "But I won't—can't do that if it puts you in danger…and I don't know if I trust myself…" He ended in a whisper.

The bell rang. I was late. He took a step back.

"Jasper, I don't care! I just don't want you to disappear again." I said truthfully.

"I won't"

"Okay" I whispered, mostly to myself.

"See you at lunch," he said, walking in the direction of his class.

It was storming outside when I left Spanish, but I noticed Angela was waiting for me at the door. Luckily, I had regained my composure by then. She was far too perceptive. She would know something was wrong. She didn't talk much—which was a change—as we walked towards the cafeteria.

"Are you sitting with Jasper today?" she asked.

"…I don't know" I said, trying to sound calm.

I had my question answered as I saw Jasper leaning against the wall outside the cafeteria.

"I guess so," I said, trying to sound eager.

"Bye Devin, call you later," she said sounding concerned. She eyed Jasper warily as she went into the cafeteria.

"Hello." He said quietly.

I took a deep breath. "Hi"

"You're upset." I knew there was no use in lying to him. He would always know exactly how I felt. I let the gravity of that sink in for a second.

"I'll be fine," I told him. He opened the cafeteria door. I walked in. he led the way to the line silently, glancing at me every few seconds. He took two trays and started filling them with food. I followed silently to the table, and sat down.

"So can you actually eat food?" I asked, my voice apathetic.

He rolled his eyes, and picked up an apple of my tray and took a quick bite, chewed, then swallowed. I raised my eyebrows.

"Yes, I can eat food. But since I'm technically dead, I can't digest it."

"That's it Jasper, I'm officially creeped out. Goodbye," I said sarcastically.

"Not funny," he said quietly.

I sighed, taking a bite of pizza. I looked around the cafeteria. I saw Alice, staring into space, and Edward staring at me. That bothered me.

"Do they tell you things?" I motioned towards his family. "What I'm thinking? What I'm going to do?"

"Maybe…" he said teasingly.

I glared at him to show I was serious.

"Alice and Edward like to keep their secrets. It's hardly fair because I can't keep secrets from them. I've only managed to get a few minute details out of them."

"Like what?" I asked suspiciously.

"Not telling," he said with a brilliant smile.

I glared into his golden eyes, and crossed my arms.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang, I immediately went to grab my stuff. When I stood up, Jasper was already there. We walked silently to class, Jasper still watching me out the corner of his eye.

We sat down at our lab table in Biology. I noticed that he didn't put his chair as far away as he usually did. In fact, his chair was closer than necessary to mine. I scooted my chair an inch in the opposite direction.

Mr. Banner wasn't there today. Instead, we had a frail-looking old woman for a substitute. She smelled like old lady. The substitute didn't say much, but she walked into the class pushing a cart with a TV on it. She pushed in a tape, and turned off the lights. My whole body went tense. My heart started beating faster. I glanced at Jasper out the corner of my eye. He was looking back at me with the same expression. He smiled, eyes glistening in the light of the TV. I turned to the TV so I didn't start drooling.

The whole time the movie was on, I couldn't relax. I was tense with him so close to me. Occasionally, I'd spare a glance in his direction. He was always staring back, which didn't help me to relax any. I wanted to reach out and feel his face, but I knew that would be unwise. There seemed to be lightning sparking between us, it was almost palpable.

I was relieved when the sub turned back on the lights at the end of the period. I stretched my rigid arms and legs, flexing my fingers and toes. He was still eyeing me cautiously.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing" he said quietly, grabbing his things. He stood and waited for me as I walked to the door. When I walked out the door, I was greeted by Alice, staring intently at the door from a few yards away. I turned to Jasper.

"What's Alice doing?" I asked him. She glared at Jasper. It sent chills down my spine.

"Probably checking to see if you're still alive," he said nonchalantly.

"What?!"

"I'm not perfect. She probably saw me killing you more than once during that class."

I ignored his statement purposefully. "How does it work?"

"She can see the future, but only as long as that person stays exactly the same. Once someone changes their mind, so does the future. Alice only sees the outcome of someone's decisions."

"So at one point you were considering just killing me? Great."

"You don't understand how unbelievably hard this is for me." He muttered weakly.

We reached the gym, I muttered an awkward goodbye. He muttered his, just before leaving in the direction of his next class. I noticed Mike, watching me suspiciously the whole period. He finally approached me towards the end of class.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Hale," he said apprehensively. I was in no mood.

"So Mike? He's my friend. Are you jealous or something? Do you want to be friends with one of the Cullens too? I think I could arrange that if you like," I said, voice full of menace.

"Goodness, I was just saying. You don't have to bite my head off." He said defensively.

"What an ass," he said walking off. Good riddance. I felt no remorse for my words, though I probably would later.

When I exited the gym, it was storming violently. I didn't think I'd be riding with Jasper. I'd walk home if I had to. I got to the parking lot and was surprised to see my truck sitting in my usual parking spot. I ran to it, hopping inside. On the passenger's seat, there was a note. I recognized Jasper's elegant script from Biology.

I know you probably wouldn't want to ride with me, so I brought you your truck. There is nothing I can say or do to excuse what happened today. I hope to make it up to you soon. Alice say's I will and I trust her. All I can say now is that I'm really sorry.

—Jasper

Wow…I listened to the rain hitting my windshield as I let that sink in. I realized I was cold, so I started the car, turned on the heat and headed home.

That night I read his note over and over. I finally put it in the drawer on my desk before going to bed. My recurring dream once again hindered my sleep. This time even more things were different.

"I know what you want," he said. I felt my heart flutter. He could probably read my mind as well as Edward could. "Calm down."

"What?" I looked into his golden eyes. His honey blonde hair fell in casual disarray around his angelic face. He smiled playfully.

He leaned in slowly. I froze, heart racing. He stopped, and I felt my system slow down as my breathing slowed and my thoughts became clearer. He closed the distance between us. He was swift and cautious, pulling back before I had even come out of shock.

I thawed out, and leaned in to kiss him again. I wanted more. I looked up at his beautiful eyes. He placed his hands on my shoulders, holding me back.

"I can't do this, it's not right," he muttered. Again, he was gone…

It felt like I had been punched in the gut as I stared after him. I wasn't sure which way he had gone, so I couldn't follow…

When I pulled into school, I was surprised to see both the Volvo and the convertible. I saw Edward, Alice, and Jasper riding in the Volvo; Rosalie and Emmet riding in the shiny convertible.

I turned my attention away from them, grabbing my backpack to get out of the car. I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw a tall girl with golden hair flowing down her back walking up to me. Her skin was the same pale shade as Jasper's, and her face was prettier than any model I had ever seen. Her eyes were black as coals, and a look of seriousness clouded her expression.

"Hello Devin," she said, her voice was cold and business-like, but it still reminded me of birds singing.

"Hello Rosalie," I muttered shyly. She gave a curt smile.

"Devin, please don't be angry with Jasper, he's had the most difficult time dealing with this…If you only knew. With you being his singer and all, I'm surprised you're alive right now. I'm sorry but I have to get this off my chest, because quite frankly I'm tired of Jasper's sulking. I mean it's not like he was the life of the party or anything before, but at least he was there! So please stop being so melodramatic. It's starting to get annoying."

She turned on her heel and strode back towards her car. I sat there for a moment, blinking. What just happened? I wondered if all the Cullens hated me, or if it was just her.

My mind kept wandering all day and I couldn't concentrate much on class. At lunch, I noticed that Jasper was sitting with his family. I sheepishly walked over to sit with Angela and the rest of my friends. Mike made no move to include me in conversation, which suited me, because I wrapped up in my own thoughts.

I couldn't try to get Jasper's attention because he was sitting with his back to me. He was slouched over his plate, picking lazily at the food. Rosalie caught me looking in their direction and gave me the most terrifying glare I had ever seen. I quickly started looking at another table.

The bell rang. I was afraid to face Jasper in biology. He would probably be ignoring me…after all, I was being overly irrational. I hurried out of the cafeteria, luckily avoiding the Cullens.

I sat down in biology with my heart racing. Jasper was quietly reading a book in the seat next to me. He looked up when I sat down. I resisted the urge to look away in shame.

"I'm sorry about Rosalie. She can be a bit abrasive at times," he said quietly.

"Its okay, I deserved it. I'm so sorry I was so stupid yesterday. You're right. I have no idea what you're going through. That was insensitive of me. Please forgive me?" At this point I needed him in my life. He looked down at the table. The seconds ticked by as he tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, leaving little imprints where his fingers were. The suspense was driving me insane.

"You are forgiven," he said with a smile.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you," I said gratefully. He nodded, turning his attention to Mr. Banner, who had already started class. I reluctantly turned my attention towards the board and began taking notes.

I was taking notes when I noticed a folded sheet of paper appear next to my notebook. I looked up at Jasper but he was attentively taking notes. I opened the paper to see his elegant script.

Are you busy this weekend?

I quickly scrawled out my response

No why?

Before I could turn my attention back to my notes, he had already slid the note back to me.

I want to take you somewhere.

My heart fluttered at the idea, but I still didn't understand.

Where?

This time I watched as he wrote with inhuman speed.

It's a surprise.

That sent my heart racing even faster.

Sure. I wrote, trying to appear nonchalant. He smiled when he read the paper. Then, I found it really hard to concentrate. I felt the invisible lightning between us reappeared, and I started to get jittery. I tapped my foot and kept glancing at the clock, waiting for the tension to lift. Finally, the bell rang and we both grabbed our stuff and left the class.

"So, about this weekend, can I drive? I actually enjoy living."

"Says the boy who hangs out with a blood-sucking vampire,' he whispered.

I laughed. "Please? Your driving scares me."

"I'll think about it," he replied playfully.

I couldn't keep myself from smiling.

"You should tell your dad that you'll be with me Saturday," he said quietly.

"Why," I whispered.

"The more people that know, the better…It gives me a reason to bring you back."

"I trust you," I told him casually. He turned and stared at me. He sighed, and then turned back towards the front of the room.

"You're really not afraid are you?" he said in a tone of awe.

"You would know," I replied with a smirk. He chuckled under his breath.

Jasper was waiting for me outside the gym after seventh period. He walked me to my car, and then went back to the shiny silver Volvo.

That evening, when Steven got home, he called me from upstairs claiming to have a surprise for me. I got downstairs, and froze in shock. Sitting on the counter, right in front of me, was a cell phone box. I stood there in shock for a few seconds.

"Thank you Dad!!" I screamed, attacking him with a hug. I released him so I could check out the phone. It was an LG flip phone, and I was satisfied. My mom wouldn't let me have a phone. She claimed I didn't need one, but I think she was just too stingy to get me one. I went upstairs to put it on the charger so I could use it tomorrow. Then I took a shower, and started on some homework. About half-way through, I started thinking about Jasper. Then I started wondering if my obsession was unhealthy. I decided that it didn't really matter to me if it was unhealthy or not, I needed to be near him.

A/N: Sigh, this chapter looks so much better on word. i used pretty fonts :). The song used in the last chapter is Closer To You – Young Love. I forgot to add that to the last author's note (I've been getting lazy with them). It's truly an amazing song. I still haven't titled this chapter, which means that the title will probably be really stupid haha. Ooh! I just thought of something really good. Okay, the next chapter will not get posted until I have at least 5 new reviewers. So tell your friends! :D

Man, do I love drama…And I Love You Too!

Review or Die!

-Kevyncito